Wike’s political romance with Tinubu

Speaking about his career and the quantum of seriousness people attach to him, English comedic actor Charles Spencer Chaplin once compared himself to a politician.

Hear him: “I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.”

Arguably one of the greatest artistes ever, Chaplain had very strong political views that tended towards the wellbeing of the people. In this statement, he referred to the shifty nature, which causes many politicians to make promises they do not intend to keep.

So, while a comedian makes jokes for a living, and to keep the people happy, politicians make clowns of themselves by attempting to deceive the people and perpetrating a trust deficit.

The legendary filmmaker spoke about how current exigencies define the loyalty of politicians and how a friend today becomes tomorrow’s arch-enemy. Politicians are indeed a rare breed.

This is especially so in Nigeria. If our politicians weren’t so rapacious and mindless to make most citizens the poorest of the poor in the world, taking the shine out of their lives, the people would gather to laugh at the ridiculousness of some of those we call leaders.

On Tuesday, for instance, the outgoing Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, made a state broadcast! Why? To announce the two-day visit to the state of the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Here, we are talking about a man who has not taken the oath of office, so you can only imagine what Wike would do when Tinubu becomes president.

But the broadcast was not the end. It gets more ludicrous when the governor shuts down the state on Wednesday when Tinubu will be arriving.

He declared a public holiday, which closed government offices. Perhaps it would be excusable if he left it at that, but Wike stopped business owners in some parts of the state from opening shops, all because he considers Tinubu’s first visit as the winner of the presidential election a medal of honour for his state.

And I am asking how so? Would the president-elect’s visit provide food for the thousands of people his ill-advised action would deny a livelihood on Wednesday? Isn’t this an example of the impunity that has become integral to public office in Nigeria?

In taking decisions like shutting down the state, you wonder how much the governor took into consideration, and if he indeed consulted or sought counsel from other arms of government.

With the holiday he declared on Wednesday, many citizens of the state would have justice delayed or denied. As the courts would not open, loads of defendants or accused people who should have been in court would have been denied the opportunity to advance their cases. That is not to consider the loss of working hours imposed on the state, the number of schools that will be closed, and many other ways the state would lose resources.

That a governor could sacrifice social, economic, educational, and other activities on the altar of looking good before the president-elect is taking executive recklessness beyond imagination.

Wike’s steps are, however, not as important as his motivations. Yours truly was one of those who saw the governor’s pain over the way he was treated by leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party after he lost the presidential primaries in May last year.

In “Atiku, not Wike, is the problem,” published on August 18, 2022, I wrote: “When everyone, including Atiku and former presidents elected on the platform of the PDP, abandoned the party after the 2015 elections, Wike, alongside former Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, remained the only voices that spoke for and held the party together. That should count for something.”

But at the moment, Wike doesn’t have much stake in the PDP. Even if he reconciles with Atiku and the latter wins the election, a president keeps control of the whip and can use it as he sees fit on anyone, whether they erred in the past or are just contemplating it. There are no guarantees of Wike’s relevance in the post-election PDP, especially when the standard bearer shows little regard for him ahead of elections.

Although the governor and his allies hinged their contention with the PDP establishment on the north-heavy nature of the leadership, those who could discern saw through this smokescreen. They understood it was more of a battle for personal survival for Wike, at least. Now that he has defecated in the PDP’s hell kitchen, the politician is seeking an alternative paradise.

In seeking survival, Wike has adopted “the end justifies the means” totalitarian tactic of the Italian author and philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli. He doesn’t care about what it costs the state he governors or its people.

If this were not the protection of enlightened self-interests but out of consideration for southern Nigeria, as he dressed the issue, the Rivers governor would be on a reconciliatory mission in the PDP now. This is so because at no time in its history has Nigeria needed a more vibrant opposition party than now. So, when Iyorcha Ayu, the man he wanted out of the party, had already quit, Wike should work with other members of the party to get the PDP back on track.

The people of Nigeria should be able to rest assured there would be a formidable check on the important task of making the incoming All Progressives Congress administration accountable. Unfortunately, yesterday’s chief promoter of inclusiveness is now in bed with a Muslim president-elect whose deputy is also Muslim.

And this is not to give credence to the tendency of our leaders to entrench these primordial considerations. The perpetuation of any form of dichotomy is unhelpful to the development of our country. And history will be unkind to those who use the instrumentality of their offices to instigate Nigerians against one another. The question here, however, is how a person does who sees regional injustice, not see religious injustice`

The answer: this is Nigeria, where government is business and morality is of no consequence. No politician wants to be thrown out of power and sent into the political wilderness. Politics remains how their bread is buttered and the only way to ensure that they don’t become political mincemeat in the hands of enemies that they have made in the corridors of power.

For Wike, inviting Tinubu to Port Harcourt is the first step to having a seat in the court of the new king. It is the insurance policy against the menacing eyes of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. It will stop the people from asking questions about how the governor has over the past couple of years appropriated state resources to self-conceived projects at a whim and how he has become all-in-all in the state.

In the books of a man who has reduced development to constructing flyovers, bridges, and whatnot while the human resource in the state is wallowing in poverty, having Tinubu inaugurate projects, and shut down the state would put him in good stead for patronage. The latter belongs to the same party he described in derogatory words until he fell out with his party, notwithstanding.

All said and done, what Wike does with his politics and political future would not matter if he did not trample on the rights of the people for political expediency. How much he succeeds in the game he is playing with a veteran of political machinations like Tinubu remains to be seen.

Adedokun can be reached via Twitter@niranadedokun